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Rogue tactics
General Tactics Weapons Daggers are good for fast attacks and high burst damage, working well with Rogue Poisons. Obviously, they are also required for certain abilities such as Backstab and Ambush. Maces and Swords are useful for their more even, consistent damage. Although the overall DPS should roughly balance out with daggers, combat-specced rogues who rely on Sinister Strike (SS) can often keep up a more steady stream of attacks due to the lower energy requirements of SS and the fact that you can SS an enemy from any side, unlike Backstab or Ambush, which require being in the rear 180 degrees behind a target. Currently there's no one answer, with some rogues swearing by daggers, poison, and burst damage, and others swearing by swords/maces and SS. Here are some points to consider: *Typical dagger rogues will backstab twice to start a fight. This is a huge burst of damage and will often pull aggro off the tank. bs-SnD-bs or bs-feint-bs often solves this, but sword/mace rogues do not have this problem. *Dagger autoattacks are more frequent, helping to slow caster targets. *Daggers will apply poisons more frequently and reliably. This adds up fast, but some mobs are immune (elementals, for one). *A slow sword in the main hand will proc crusader and lifestealing more often. *Daggers will suffer durablity loss faster because they hit more often. *Many dagger rogues never use Ambush. Subtlety talents are not required for a dagger rogue (though many will help). *Cheap Shot doesn't require a dagger and is typically the best opener in solo, pvp, and group play. Rogues should not be stealthed in most big raids, so there is no opener. *SS is simple and easy to play, and works from any angle. *In 5-man instances, maneuvering to a mob's backside can be dangerous if other mobs are close-by. Won't be a problem in raids. *The Imp. Backstab talent can bump your crit rate over 50% *With a good dagger, a backstab crit can do as much damage as a non-crit 5 combo point Eviscerate. *The best dagger rogues generally deal more dps than the best sword rogues (as of 1.12), but the difference is small and the dagger rogue has to plan his attacks more carefully. *At lower levels, there is a higher availability of good swords and maces than daggers. In endgame raiding, the reverse tends to be true. Particularly, The Lobotomizer is readily available to any rogue willing to play in Alterac Valley for a month or two. *At lower levels, you will be questing by yourself a lot of the time, so it will be hard to backstab much. Ambush, with talents, can be great though. *Stunlock dagger builds can be very effective for soloing & pvp. The battles take longer, but you have more health at the end, so you can move on to the next kill. *In 40-man raids, most enemies will be immune to stuns and poisons. All in all, the level of debate on the forums goes to show that there's no one way to play a Rogue. Ultimately you are probably best off trying out the different styles to see which works best for you. Also see Rogue Gear Guide for detailed information about rogue equipment. Blind Blind uses a reagent, which is created from fadeleaf. You can collect this if you have herbalism - otherwise, you will have to either purchase it from other players, or you can get it from Kurzen medicine men in Stranglethorn Vale. One fadeleaf will allow you to make 3 blinding powders. As of patch 1.12, you can get blinding powder from pickpocketed lockboxes, along with many other rogue reagents. Blind is most useful when soloing a difficult monster, or in a PvP environment; typical uses include: *To aid a getaway, particularly if Vanish is down - or just as added insurance. *When you get snared or rooted - most of these effects won't outlast the 10 second duration of the blind, so effectively the two moves cancel one another out. *To buy some time to bandage or reposition yourself (It is advisable to make a macro for bandaging after a blind, as those few seconds of fumbling around targeting yourself can cost you needed time - I personally use the usebyname addon) *As a weaker form of Crowd Control when taking on more than one enemy; in conjunction with Sap and other crowd control devices, can sometimes allow Rogues to take on quite a few enemies alone *In 1v1 PvP the 10 seconds are enough time to restealth, recover energy and do another opening move Poisons See Rogue Poisons for information on the actual creation of poisons. ; Crippling Poison : The most useful poison is probably crippling poison, which slows your enemies considerably. This is extremely useful in PVP, and can also be useful in PVE situations with mobs that try to run away and alert additional enemies. It is generally accepted that rogues should use crippling poison on both blades at all times in battlegrounds (unless perhaps on solo "missions" in Alterac Valley). ; Instant Poison : Instant poison is useful for just adding flat-out DPS. Useful for PVE situations when other poisons aren't required. ; Deadly Poison : This poison soaks the weapon with a DoT poison, which is stackable. It is useful against other rogues, because the damage stops them from going into stealth. Note however, that it also breaks the various ways to stun the opponent. Therefore using Deadly Poison is a matter of personal preference, and also the particular situation. The Rupture ability has the same non-stealthing property versus rogues, but offers much more control over when to apply it. ; Mind-Numbing Poison : The mind-numbing poison works well against casters, but it can be a close call whether its best to just use say instant poison to kill them quicker, as rogues already have quite a few good anti-caster tactics. It may, however, provide good insurance against a caster. It is also useful when there are many casters in an area, and you need more than what is available through abilities. Additionally, it can be useful against instance bosses who cast spells and aren't immune to poison (the assistants of Sulfuron Harbinger and Majordomo in Molten Core are one example). ; Wound Poison : This poison prevents healing effects from being used on the target. It is somewhat useful in PvE against mobs that like to heal excessively, but Wound Poison is most useful in PvP. Picking Pockets Pickpocket is one of the bread-and-butter skills of the Rogue. An easy way to raise your cash flow starting at a mere level 4. Some have wondered, why pickpocket a mob when I can just kill it and take its stuff? Pickpocketing loots from a different pool, so you can double your take. Here are a few tips to remember. * Try to be behind your target. Pickpocket has limited range and stealth is 75% level versus level. Higher level targets will often growl at you, this is a hint that you're too close, but it's also a great chance to circle your target and examine it's pockets. * If a monster is patrolling an area, try to catch it mid-route instead of waiting for it to stop. If it stops, it can turn around and catch you mid theft. * After level 22 Distract is a very good way to keep your marks in position for you to rob them. It also improves your chances of success. * If a pickpocket goes bad in an area full of enemies, remember to fall back on tricks like Sprint and Vanish to escape. * Pickpocket every enemy you can. This may seem tedious at first, more so at lower levels when you only gain 1-10 copper from enemies, but its very much worth it and really adds up. 100 Copper equals 1 Silver, 100 Silver = 1 Gold, and you're going to have killed thousands if not millions of mobs by the time you reach level 60. If you pick pocket at every oportunity you'll make a tidy profit. At higher levels you will start to relieve enemies of 2-5 silver instead of just copper. * Pickpocket mostly only works against humanoid enemies, but also against some slimes and demons, notably satyrs. PvP Tactics Solo PvP Also see: Rogue PvP tactics, for more details on how to kill specific classes. # Stealth is your friend but know its limitations! #*You may want to test the full limitations of stealth if you do not already know them with a friend in a duel. (Just make sure you're not in a group with your friend, since that negates stealth for your group members.) Once you know its limitations know what different level variations do to the limitations. In solo PvP stealth is the number one priority as your best bet at winning a battle is getting that first hit in. # Assess the situation. #*If you don't think you can handle it yet or are waiting for the right moment be patient. Many times in solo PvP you will find that your enemy gives you the best opportunities if you just wait. #*Take a cue from predators in nature and strike the weakest of a group when they wander a little too far for their friends to back them up. You can always vanish and come back for others after the weak one is down. #*Prioritize your enemies. Nothing is more annoying than getting someone under 5% of their health, then watching their friend, whom you could have killed in a few seconds, heal them back to full health. Don't waste time on a heavily-armored warrior while the cloth-wearing mage is firing nukes at you. #*Look for people sitting down, drinking or eating. Ambush them. The first attack that lands on a sitting enemy automatically hits and crits. # Know your specials #*Cheap Shot is arguably the best opener in PvP and PvE. You instantly get 2 combo points leaving you open to many options and your opponent is stuck stunned as you beat on them. Cheapshot however isn't always the best choice depending on number of enemies, armor class of your enemies, and level difference. A well placed Ambush can instantly kill a cloth armored enemy and allow you to work on the tougher enemy, but it is often difficult to get behind a player in limitted time, making it more useful in group PvP. Some classes, like the Mage can use powers like Blink to move even while stunned by a cheap shot, making it less useful on them. Additionally, in endgame PvE raids, many enemies are immune to stuns. #*Evasion has limited use in PvP as it protects you against physical melee attacks and, to a slight degree, ranged attack, but has no effect on spell damage. Although warriors have a counterattack called Overpower which would normally make dodging a liability against them, the ability has a long cooldown and evasion while taking one overpower hit is superior to not evading at all. #*Some may not know this but Distract does work in PvP. The exact same as in PvE other than the player can move around after initial distraction. You can use this to make sure you hit them where it counts - Their backs. It is also useful to stop moving targets and allow you time to catch up with them while stealthed. This works mainly from the confusion factor of the player wondering "What just happened?" and "What direction was I heading again?". It's perfect for road-side ambushes. Distract does not work on targets that are already in combat. # Poisons are key! #*Before you begin know what types you plan on attacking or where you are. Choosing your Rogue Poisons can be tricky and most people fail to understand some of the variables going into the fight. Your main hand and offhand weapons have the same chance to hit, but the main hand weapon will probably apply poisons more often (this happens because of the rogue's instant attacks, which are dealed by the main hand weapon). However, if the main hand weapon is very slow and the offhand is very fast, then the offhand weapon may poison the target more often. A good way to find out which of your weapons poisons more often is to apply deadly poison on both, go grinding and then see what weapon spends it's poison charges first. So if one poison is more important (often crippling) you should put it on the weapon that has a higher chance to apply the poison. Keep in mind that if your opponent has Deadly Poison applied to him and you Gouge him, he will come out of the Gouge if he takes damage from the damage over time effect of Deadly Poison. # You don't always need to kill them all at once. #*With Vanish you are able to give yourself a second chance at a battle. Use this when fighting groups to give yourself some time to regen a little and keep them on edge. A group on edge will more than likely mess up at some point rather than someone who is calm and thinks they have it under control. Remember that any DoTs on you will break your stealth, potentially starting your cooldown timer and wasting a flash powder. Be sure to move away, as groups of players will generally try to find you once you've restealthed, using a variety of abilities. # Potions, Food, and Bandages #*You should always have a well stocked supply of each of these for the ability to do many things very quickly. Bandages when used right start you with a fresh slate and using food buffs as well as Thistle Tea to regen your energy bar to full on a tough opponent can help immensly. For a rogue, it is important to have as many healing items that do not share a cooldown timer as possible. Equipping Yourself In PvP your primary goal is to drop Healers and Mages first, because you have the ability to sneak around the battle and get to these players with ease, this obviously makes damage a priority. While it is true that most Priest and Mage characters have really low armor class, Rogue is a more hit-and-run PvP character than a stand-and-fight type. Focus your equipment on the highest Attack Power possible, Agility being your primary and Strength being your secondary. All your equipment should have at least some bonus to Agility and you should have the highest damage range weapon in your main hand, and highest DPS weapon in your offhand that you can buy, with +damage or agility enchants, or proc enchants like Fiery, Lifestealing, Icy, Crusader, etc. Additionally, you should be well stocked in poisons and reagents before entering any sort of PvP. Carrying a variety of poisons may take up bag slots, but it allows you to adapt to any given PvP situation. Group PvP In group PvP, a rogue's role can be split into the following: # Take out specific targets fast - especially priests and mages. # Interrupt casters - kick, gouge, kidney shot, mind-numbing poison. # Scout ahead for the group # Save your own group's priests/mages # Limited crowd control - sap, blind, stun-locks The rogue's main strength is probably their ability to mess with the casters. Firstly, their low AC and hp makes them relatively vulnerable to quick surprise attacks. Secondly, rogues can interrupt much of their spell casting, even their instants if mind-numbing poison hits. Finally, rogues can keep them stunned for a fairly long duration. A typical rogue might hang-back in the first seconds of battle until confusion kicks in, before sneaking around the back to where the casters are. Priests are often best attacked with a Cheap Shot to keep them stunned, but against a Mage who can Blink right out of a cheapshot, an Ambush may be best. If a rogue can move quickly and catch an enemy not already engaged, then Sap is another good option to take them out of the battle briefly. Once the rogue has made their first move, there are two main options. He can either stay in the thick of things (suits the combat builds well) or he can back out and try to return to stealth (suits the assasination/subtlety rogues more). Strategic use of Vanish can also be very powerful, but he must be wary for any DoTs present. In a Capture the Flag scenario (e.g. Warsong Gulch), a rogue can often make a good flag-bearer by staying in stealth for part of a battle, then grabbing the flag and running like hell while a mage freezes the enemy in place. Raid PvP In raid PVP go for the healers. Rogues are good at interrupting spells and making a caster's life hell. Just stealth and while everyone is working fighting at the front creep around back and get the healers and mages. PvE Tactics Solo PvE Quick and Easy Battle for lower level Rogues # Draw aggro by throwing a couple of knives from the farthest possible distance. # When the mob is near, use Gouge to immobilize him. # Go behind and use Backstab. # You should have two combo points by now. Use some sinister strikes as needed. If the mob still has plenty of health, use sinister strikes to accumulate five combo points. # Eviscerate. # Rinse and repeat (as necessary). Alternatively, open up by sneaking up behind them, use pickpocket and then backstab or Ambush if you are high enough. OR # Stealth up to the mob, and use Backstab, and your enemy should now be facing you. # Wait for some energy, then use Gouge and go behind the enemy and use Backstab. # Use Sinister Strike while you wait for Gouge's cooldown to finish. # If you want you can now use Gouge and repeat from step one (Backstab, Sinister Strike, Gouge, etc...) or # Eviscerate. At the levels 10 - 15, the mobs usually die at around step 3 / 4 so Eviscerate usually isn't nessecary. Grinding for higher level ambush Rogues # Find an area with good bit of "caster" mobs, which are mobs that tend to cast lots of spells and have lower HP than the standard "warrior" mobs. The easiest way to find these mobs is to just look for mobs with a mana bar. These mobs are easy to kill for rogues for two reasons. Firstly, they have low HP; and secondly, you can disrupt their spells with either kick, gouge, or kidney shot. # Always open with Ambush. # Have Kick ready, because the "caster" mob will usually turn around and start casting a 2-4 second spell. Better though is to learn their casting time and gouge at the last second, so when you break the gouge they usually begin to cast again, kick at the last possible second(Usually the standard Fire Ball, Frost Bolt, or Shadow Bolt. A few mobs will cast a short healing spell which can be easily kicked.) You want them to be casting for as long as possible, so you are gaining maximum energy and taking minimum melee damage # After you disrupt the spell with kick, wait for your energy to build up near 100/100 and then do a standard gouge and backstab. Depending on your talent build the mob should be near death by now and your kick timer should be finished so you can use it if necessary. # In my experiences I was able to just ride along roads looking for caster groups, once I found a group I would grind there for hours. They're easy to kill and give just as much XP as "warrior" mobs. Most of the time I don't take ANY damage from these guys, which reduces down time between fights. I have literally killed these mobs so fast I had to wait for my cooldown on stealth before going for the next "caster" mob. # http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/guides.html?guide=345 contains a good list of places to grind between levels 35-60. Grinding for higher level Combat(Sword) Rogues # As with ambush Rogues, caster mobs are good for grinding quickly and efficiently # Humanoids are nice for pickpocketing, and often drop cloth for bandaging yourself, which increases grind speed dramatically # Open up with either a cheapshot or a pull with a ranged weapon (try to get a ranged weapon with stats instead of a thrown weapon) # SS spam with the occasional Eviscerate or Expose armor for high armor opponents # When grinding on elite opponents (they give tons of xp), keep in mind that you can Blind and bandage if you get too low on health # Try to avoid using Rupture on elite opponents because it will break your blind and they will be able to disrupt your bandaging Equipping Yourself Rogues main attribute is Agility and should be the foremost thing equipment is chosen for. In PvE situations, it's best to also have equipment that boosts Stamina as Rogues generally have low hitpoints. Each point of Stamina equals 10 more hitpoints. Spirit is also helpful to avoid long downtimes between fights. Also, any equipment that gives +% to crit or raw attack power is very nice, in addition to agility 1% Crit ~~ 29 Agility at level 60 (keep in mind this does not increase your attack power or dodge as straight agility would) Think of AP as strength, it gives you the same bonus: 1AP = 1 Str and vice versa Advanced Combos "Stunlocking" is a common tactic for Rogues. This basically stems from the concept that if they can't attack you, they can't harm you. This is especially effective for fighting warrior mobs, or in general anything that will deal a great deal of damage with just one hit. Stunlock Combo - Long Version This assumes you are not using any DOT poisons. I prefer Instant Poison on the main hand and Crippling Poison on the off hand which deals extra DPS on assasination moves, and a chance to slow the mob during normal rolls. # Distract and sneak behind, remember to pickpocket if it's a humanoid, this will give you a chance to work your lockpicking after the fight as well as some extra loot. # Cheap Shot (awards 2 combo points / total: 2) # Backstab (awards 1 combo point / total 3), this is a great time to use Cold Blood if you have it # Gouge (awards 1 combo point / total 4), depending on your rolls you will usually need to wait for this one. It's tempting to go for a different ability or quickly do a 3 point Kidney Shot, but be patient (this step doesn't work. even if you have 5 pieces of tier 1 and 31 pts in assassination for 120 energy this only works if you get lucky.) Alternatively, you can wait for energy to regen to almost full and use a 3 point Kidney Shot. This should only be used if it seems the mob can be killed or very nearly killed by the two backstabs that will follow. This technique tends to result in you losing slightly more health in a battle, so it's preferable in only certain situations (should be fine if you have some kind proc healing effect, i.e. crusader enchant, lifestealing enchant, darkmoon card: heroism, etc.; or if you're fighting a caster mob that'll probably only get one spell off) # Sinister Strike (awards 1 combo point / total 5). Again, be patient, let the Gouge do the work. You will be tempted to SS too early because typically it's ready while the mob is still stunned. Let your energy keep building and at the last second SS # Kidney Shot (5 point finishing move) this will award you with a very long time to deal damage. If you're lucky or are using an Assasination build, you will be awarded a "free" combo point # Backstab (awards 1 combo point / total 1 or 2). Use this Kidney Shot opportunity to sneak behind, be patient and your Backstab should light up soon # Gouge (awards 1 combo point / total 2 or 3). Just as they fall out of the Kidney Shot stun, stun them again and wait for your energy to charge up. Depending on the area, you may have the room to backup and throw a dagger or two. If they are a warrior mob that is crippled by your poison, they will be slow to run at you after the thrown dagger. This gives you the extra damage of throw and the extra time for energy regen while they run. Even half a second makes a difference in combos like these. # Sinister Strike (awards 1 combo point / total 3 or 4). If you are really lucky with your rolls you may be able to do a backstab here instead which should deal more damage if you are using an Assassination build # Finishing move, your choice. If the mob still has quite a bit of health left, you may find that you will end up looping through this stun lock again with another Kidney Shot, however with decent equipment fighting mobs about the same level as you, they should be almost dead if not down already. I like to throw a quick Kick in right before the Eviscerate to finish things up because the timing is almost perfect. Stunlock Combo - Exception Handling What do you do when a stunlocking attempt like the above goes bad? You are getting hit for huge chunks of life each swing and your Gouge and Kidney Shots are failing or the mob is Immune. # Keep cool. It's normal for rolls to fail especially on higher level mobs, if you panic you will die quickly # Check your abilities with long cooldowns. Do you have any heal potions available, can you vanish, can you Blind and use a First Aid bandage or food? Running away may be the best solution to the problem. # Check your status. If you vanish, and you have a DOT effect on you, your stealth will not last long. What a waste of a 5 minute cooldown, maybe you should have ran. # Check your items. You may have picked up some loot that is useful at this point and you forgot about it. # Call for help. Players around you are usually friendly and will help you out of a sticky situation, but they are probably not paying attention to you. Use /say because it will pop up over your head for people that have chat bubbles turned on. However, if you keep getting into trouble you might want to take a step back and think about how you are using your Rogue the wrong way or if there is a better location you should be in. # If your Kidney Shot fails you'll still need to wait for the cooldown. I usually go straight for the 5 point Evicerate to deal a healthy chunk of damage and try to stun again with a Gouge. If you can't keep them stunned or stun them at all just go for the DOT moves. The only reason to avoid DOT is because you are trying to keep them stunned with a Gouge, if this is failing or they are Immune, you may as well take advantage of the parallel DPS --Reklis 16:46, 24 May 2006 (EDT) Group PvE General Whatever the situation, the key thing to remember is that you are there to deal damage and up the group's average DPS. In practice, this means two things - killing things fast, and minimising downtime. Killing things fast is, in general, the easy bit. The Rogue is born for this very task! Minimising downtime typically means not dying, and letting the Tank take all the hits. Make good use of Feint if you find you're stealing aggro from the tank. Conversely, if you see a cloth-wearer in trouble, help them out and try to pull the mob off them and onto you. Healing will be focused on the Tank first, and depending on the situation and how many healers there are, there may not be enough for you. Be sure to back off and use First Aid to heal yourself; healthstones and healing potions can also be useful. For emergencies, be ready to use abilities such as Gouge, Kidney Shot and Evasion - these can make the difference between life and death for the group. Just be aware that not all enemies, especially bosses and many enemies in large raid PvE, cannot be stunned. Also see: Rogue PvE tactics for a guide on how to assist specific classes. Equipping Yourself Rogues are the most useful in group situations. Since you want to increase the group's DPS it's necessary to focus your equipment on Agility. Every point of Agility raises your Attack Power by 1. Your secondary focuses should be in Stamina, then Strength. Strength also raises Attack Power by 1 for each point, but Agility also raises Armor, your chance for Critical Hits and your ability to Dodge. Engineering's Jumper Cables can save the group from wiping, and they give you an excuse to vanish and save your own hide (otherwise it may anger your party members). Be sure to get the goblin version asap, it does not depend upon spec, gnomish engineers can also get it, and it is much more effective. Chance to work is also increased if the target has not released, so tell your rezzer at the start of the instance. Outdoors Outdoors, your main role is simply dealing damage. You may, on occassion, have to help out with some Crowd Control using Sap before a pull. Instances Enter a dungeon and the Rogue can really start to shine. You are the group's eyes and ears. Make sure you know how to use Distract and Stealth to move about undetected. Your role will be to scout ahead and call the shots. Quite often you won't be the actual puller, but you will direct the puller to tell them what mobs are around. You will also be called upon to use Sap a fair bit (the Improved Sap talent comes in very handy here). Once battle commences, your role is much as it is in any other group situation. However, you'll often find mobs are elite and have a very high AR, making you less effective than normal. If this is the case, be ready to use other abilities such as Rupture, and also Expose Armor if there's no Warrior (If there are Warriors, don't use it, as they'll likely need to use Sunder Armor to keep aggro, but that can't be used if Expose Armor is active on the target). A rogue can also use Feint to attempt to get the mob to switch targets from the rogue to another player if the rogue is in danger of being killed. One of the biggest threats in an instance is that a mob will run when low on health, and call its buddies to help. Make sure to keep Crippling Poison on your weapons to prevent this happening. Raid PvE See Also *Rogue: Working with Other Classes *Rogue: How to Kill A... *Rogue: How to Help A... *Rogue Lifestyle ---- Go to Rogue Go to Rogue Category Tactics, Rogue Category:Tactics